


Brightwell

by multifandomfangirl1997



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:20:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23690725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/multifandomfangirl1997/pseuds/multifandomfangirl1997
Summary: This fanfic is Brightwell becoming a couple & a bunch of the date ideas they do together. I'd like to dedicate this fanfic to Aurora Perrineau & Tom Payne who play Dani Powell &Malcolm Bright.
Relationships: Gil Arroyo & Jessica Whitly, JT Tarmel & Tally Tarmel, Malcolm Bright & Dani Powell
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

Malcolm sat on the edge of his bed staring at his hands. It was late at night, Malcolm figured maybe 2 or 3am, but of course he was awake due to night terrors and he was trying to think of other things that would take his mind off the night terrors. So much had happened recently but the one thing he couldn't stop thinking about was Dani. Sure there were times when it seemed like she hated him but there were other times when he noticed she couldn't help but smile at some of the things he said or did. As Malcolm sat on the edge of his bed lost in his thoughts, his phone that was sitting on the kitchen counter went off, pulling him out of his thoughts. Malcolm got up off his bed, walked over to the counter and looked at his phone. 'Dani' is what the caller I.D said when he grabbed his phone to answer. "Dani, hey. Shouldn't you be sleeping or something?" Malcolm asked with a chuckle as he sat on one of the barstools. "I'd say the same thing to you but the only times I actually know you've slept were when we first worked a case together, and when I punched you and knocked you out when you were high," Dani said with a chuckle, "anyway, I was having a hard time sleeping and I thought 'hey, Bright's probably awake. Let's call him up'. So, I called..." Malcolm nodded even though Dani couldn't see him nod. "Makes sense, call the one person who you know doesn't sleep when you can't sleep. If you want you can come over to my place and we can sit on my couch and chat, or we could go for a walk to clear our heads..." He suggested with an awkward chuckle. "Sure, I'll text you when I get to your place." Dani said before hanging up. A few minutes later, Malcolm was opening the door for Dani who had just arrived at his place. "Wow, Malcolm Bright wears casual clothing. That's a surprise." She said with a chuckle as she shook her head in disbelief. "Says the police detective in a giraffe onesie." Malcolm said with a smile as he unlocked Sunshine's bird cage to let his bird fly around the loft. "I hope you realize that I'm going to buy you a onesie now that I know you wear casual clothes Bright." Dani said as the two of them walked over to Malcolm's couch and sat down together.

After a few hours of talking, joking and laughing, Dani had fallen asleep, resting her head on Malcolm's shoulder. Malcolm smiled and repositioned himself so that Dani could comfortably lay on his chest, he didn't want her to sleep uncomfortably like she did the time she slept on his counter after punching him to knock him out due to extreme hallucinations from being high. After a short while of Malcolm laying on his couch with Dani on his chest, Malcolm had fallen asleep, his arms gently wrapped around Dani. Not too long after Malcolm had fallen asleep, Dani woke up as the sun shone through the windows in Malcolm's loft. When Dani woke up, she carefully moved Malcolm's arms and sat up, getting up off the couch without waking Malcolm. Dani had been to Malcolm's enough times to know where everything was kept, she just had to make sure he had food other than Twizzlers. Dani went through Malcolm's fridge and cupboards to find the ingredients to make blueberry muffins from scratch and by the time she was pulling the muffins out of the oven, Malcolm was waking up. "Morning sleepyhead," Dani said to Malcolm as he walked into the kitchen, "I made blueberry muffins from scratch." Malcolm smiled brightly as he started to make coffee for the two of them. "I love blueberry muffins, they're my favourite." He said as he reached past Dani to grab a muffin. Dani chuckled and rolled her eyes, "I can't stay long, I have to head home soon to get ready for work," she said as she grabbed a muffin and sat on one of the barstools, "also, if we get a case today, there will be no mention of this to JT or Gil." She added as she took a bite of her muffin and Malcolm passed her a cup of coffee. "Got it, Gil and JT don't need to know you wear giraffe onesies or that you stayed the night at my place." Malcolm said as he sat on a barstool beside Dani. Dani rolled her eyes again, "Exactly, because JT would never let me hear the end of it." She said as she finished her muffin and drank her coffee. Malcolm and Dani sat in silence as they drank their coffee and Malcolm ate his muffin. "These muffins are delicious, thanks for making them." Malcolm said to Dani as he stored them in a container and grabbed a second one. "You're welcome, it's the least I could do after crashing on your couch last night," Dani said as she placed her empty coffee mug in the sink, "Well, I'm gonna get out of here. I'll probably see you later." She added, kissing Malcolm on the cheek and instantly regretting it. Malcolm looked at Dani shocked, but then smiled softly. "Yeah, see you later." He said as he walked her to the door. Dani stopped just in the doorway and turned to look at Malcolm. "I'm sorry about that... I don't know why I did that... you know what, I'll just go..." Dani said as she turned again to leave. Before Dani could leave, Malcolm gently grabbed her arm, turned her to face him, and gently kissed her on the lips. "I've been wanting to do that for some time now," Malcolm admitted as he slid his hand from Dani's arm to her hand, "I meant to tell you that I'm in love with you that time I had my hands on a landmine." Dani looked at Malcolm's hand holding hers then looked up at Malcolm. "Wait, that's what you were going to tell me?" She asked with a slight chuckle, "Bright, you could have just said so. I mean, even if you hadn't told me when your hands were on a landmine, you could have told me when we were crashing the Taylor wedding together to stop a murder." She added as she rubbed the back of Malcolm's hand with her thumb. Malcolm smiled slightly, "So would you maybe want to go on a date sometime?" He asked awkwardly. Dani smiled and kissed Malcolm's cheek. "I'd love to, we can discuss date plans later." She said as she rubbed the back of Malcolm's hand with her thumb again before leaving to get ready of work.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days after Dani had agreed to go on a date with Malcolm, Dani arrived at Malcolm's to pick him up for their date. "Are you finally going to tell me what we're doing for our surprise date or do I have to wait until we get there?" Malcolm asked Dani as he locked up his loft and walked over to Dani who was leaning against her car. "The reason it's a surprise is because I don't need you trying to back out, and you can't say you won't because I know you will." Dani said as they both climbed into Dani's car. Malcolm chuckled, "well, at least it wouldn't be like the other things I've done," he said as Dani started to drive them to their date location, "you know, with how many times I've put myself in danger, I'm surprised Gil doesn't make me wear a bulletproof vest." Malcolm added jokingly, and Dani smiled at his comment. "A bulletproof vest with a tracking device on it," Dani said as she parked the car by a park, "we're here, just don't fully get out of the car yet." She added as she opened her door and got out before opening the door to the backseat. Malcolm opened his door and turned his body so his legs were hanging out of the car. Dani grabbed two pairs of roller skates out of the back of her car and walked over to Malcolm. "Roller skates? Are we roller skating through the park?" Malcolm asked as he started to take off his shoes. "Yep, we are roller skating through the park. I was originally going to have us go rollerblading but then I remember that you're kind of clumsy and I figured roller skating was the safer way to go." Dani said as Malcolm took a pair of roller skates from her and put them on. "If we did roller blading instead of roller skating I would probably fall flat on my butt after getting out of your car." Malcolm said with a chuckle as he tied up the roller skates and stood up. Dani took off her shoes and put on her roller skates, tossing her shoes into her car and making sure all the doors were closed. "Okay, let's start this Saturday morning with some rolling skating." Dani said with a smile as she grabbed Malcolm's hand and started roller skating through the park with him.

Dani and Malcolm roller skated through the park for a few hours, and returned to Dani's car. "Okay, I'm thinking we make grilled cheese sandwiches when we get back to your place?" Dani suggested as she and Malcolm took off their roller skates and changed back into their shoes. "First you make me muffins, now grilled cheese sandwiches. Dang, you're amazing." Malcolm said excitedly as they climbed into Dani's car. Dani smiled as she drove back to Malcolm's house. "Well I never did get to make you a grilled cheese sandwich the last time I was going to." Dani said and Malcolm chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, that's what happens when you mix my trauma and hallucinations with drugs." He said awkwardly, as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, don't worry about it Malcolm. It's not a big deal and besides, I would make blueberry movies or grilled cheese sandwiches for you any day if it means that I know you are eating." Dani said as she parked her car in front of Malcolm's building. Malcolm rolled his eyes as he and Dani got out and went inside. "I shouldn't be surprised that you're going to be making sure I eat all the time. Just, don't expect me to be getting a decent amount of sleep because that's not happening." Malcolm said as he walked into his loft with Dani following behind him. "Well I mean if absolutely necessary, I can knock you out like I did before." Dani said with a chuckle as she walked into Malcolm's kitchen. "Oh, so you're making jokes now?" Malcolm asked with a laugh as he sat on one of the barstools at his kitchen counter. "At least my jokes are funny, unlike someone's jokes." Dani said with a chuckle as she got out everything she needed to make grilled cheese sandwiches. Malcolm looked at Dani in disbelief, "um, okay. Good to know I'm not funny." He said with a chuckle before standing up and walking to the other side of the counter to make tea for him and Dani. Dani made the grilled cheese sandwiches and put them on plates while Malcolm made their tea. "Whatcha making there Bright?" She asked peering over Malcolm's shoulder. "I'm making us tea, earl grey tea." Malcolm said brightly as Dani handed him one of the plates. "I love earl grey tea, let's eat our grilled cheese sandwiches while we wait for our tea to steep." Dani suggested as she grabbed the other plate and sat on one of the barstools. Malcolm sat on one of the stools beside Dani and took a bite of his sandwich. After Dani and Malcolm had finished their grilled cheese sandwiches, Malcolm grabbed the teas and walked with Dani over to the couch. "So, are we calling this the end of our date or do you have more planned that you aren't telling me about?" Malcolm asked as Dani leaned against him. "I think it's safe to say that starting now, the rest of today is a completely unplanned day," Dani said with a smile, "so we can do whatever you want to do. We can relax, watch tv, watch a movie. Whatever you would like to do." Malcolm smiled as he wrapped an arm around Dani, "This was fun, I think taking the time to relax would be nice. We could listen to music, maybe dance.." He said kissing Dani's cheek. Dani took a sip of her tea and sat up to look at Malcolm, "last time you wanted to dance, you were high." Dani said with a chuckle as she leaned against Malcolm again. "Hey, at least if we do dance this time, I should have proper coordination with my feet." Malcolm said with a chuckle as he finished drinking his tea. Dani placed her mug on Malcolm's coffee table, "Shall we see about that?" She asked as she stood up and held her hand out to Malcolm. "Shouldn't I be the one doing that?" Malcolm asked as he placed his mug next to Dani's nd placing his hand in Dani's as he stood. Dani chuckled as Malcolm walked over to his stereo and put on some music for them to dance to. "Let's see how well you can slow dance." Dani said with a smile as Malcolm wrapped one arm around Dani's waist and and gently held her other hand. Dani took the hand that wasn't in Malcolm's hand and placed it on Malcolm's shoulder. Malcolm and Dani swayed slowly to the music, both of them smiling brightly as they danced.


	3. Chapter 3

Dani sat at her desk staring at the clock, she had spent the whole day at her desk doing paperwork since they didn't have any cases to deal with and she was just ready to go to Malcolm's place and relax with him. When it was finally time for her to call it a day, Dani stood up, grabbed her leather jacket, and left. She couldn't wait to see Malcolm, it had been a few days of no cases and she hadn't seen Malcolm since their Saturday date so Dani was really looking forward to seeing Malcolm. When Dani got to Malcolm's place she let herself in with the key he had given her. "Hey Dani, how was work?" Malcolm asked when she walked through the door. When Dani looked in the direction Malcolm's voice came from she saw a blanket fort with Malcolm poking his head out of it. "I have so many questions, I need to relax first." Dani said as she walked into the kitchen to make herself some tea. Malcolm crawled out of the blanket fort and walked over to Dani. "I got bored while you were at work so I made a blanket fort. Don't worry, I also had breakfast with my sister and lunch with my mother so the blanket fort is not the only thing that I've done today." Malcolm said as he stood behind Dani and wrapped his arms around her. "You're such a dork, and this blanket fort only confirms it," Dani said as she finished making her tea, "does Gil know you made a blanket fort or am I the only one who knows?" Dani kissed Malcolm's cheek before walking over to the couch to relax while she drank her tea. "Only you know, I didn't think to send any photos of my fort to Gil," Malcolm said as he climbed back into his fort, "it can be our fort if you come join me. I've got pillows and Twizzlers in here." Malcolm added poking his head out of the fort again. Dani chuckled as she took a sip of her tea, "I'll join you in a minute, let me relax on the couch for a bit." She said as she looked over at Malcolm in his fort and chuckled. Malcolm smiled at Dani before fully going into his fort, and eating a few Twizzlers. After finishing his Twizzlers, Malcolm had poked his head out of the fort again and looked at Dani. "Are you coming in yet?" He asked excitedly. Dani shook her head, "Not yet Malcolm, I'll let you know when I am. Okay?" She said as she watched him and drank her tea.

After Dani had finished her tea, she placed her empty mug in the sink in Malcolm's kitchen before walking over to Malcolm's fort. "Okay Malcolm. I'm coming into your fort now." She said as she moved the blankets so that she could crawl into the fort. When Dani moved the blankets she found Malcolm laying on the floor, asleep inside the fort. Dani smiled as she crawled into the fort and laid down beside Malcolm, wrapping her arms around him and falling asleep. After a while, Malcolm woke up due to a night terror and sat up, he was quickly comforted by Dani who was right beside him and had woken up when she felt Malcolm wake up. "Hey, it's okay. It was just a bad dream," Dani said softly and comfortingly as wrapped her arms tight around Malcolm, "it was just a bad dream." Malcolm rested his head on Dani's shoulder and wrapped his arms around her. Dani ran her fingers through Malcolm's hair then gently and comfortingly rubbed her hand in small circles on Malcolm's back. Malcolm moved his head and buried his face in Dani's chest. "Malcolm, I've got you. You're gonna be okay, I've got you." Dani whispered in Malcolm's ear, what Dani didn't know was that Malcolm had fallen asleep again in the comfort of her arms. Dani sat holding Malcolm close, after a short while she realized he was asleep and laid him down on the floor, laying beside him again. Dani thought it was a little goofy to still be in Malcolm's blanket fort but she wasn't about to carry him to his bed.

Malcolm woke up the next morning before Dani did and decided to make breakfast. Malcolm went through his cupboards and found what he needed to make chocolate chip pancakes. As Malcolm was making pancakes, and hoping that he didn't ruin or burn them, Dani woke up and walked into the kitchen. "Good morning Dani, I'm making pancakes." Malcolm said with a bright smile. Dani chuckled and kissed Malcolm's cheek. "Do you want me to help you with the pancakes?" She asked as she grabbed mugs to make coffee. "You make the pancakes while I make the coffee?" Malcolm suggested turning to look at Dani and stepping aside so she could take over. Dani took the spatula from Malcolm and took over with making the pancakes while Malcolm got started on their coffees. "Sorry about last night and the whole sleeping on the floor thing." Malcolm said as Dani finished making the pancakes and putting them on plates. "That was no big deal, I think it was cute that you fell asleep in your blanket fort even before I had joined you in the fort. Besides, it was definitely better than the counter." Dani said as she set the plates down of the counter and she sat on one of the barstools. Malcolm finished making the coffees and set the mugs in front of the plates before sitting beside Dani. "You know, you didn't have to sleep on the counter that night. You totally could have slept on the couch but whatever, that's kind of on you." Malcolm said with a chuckle as he took a bite of his pancakes. Dani gave Malcolm a playful punch in the arm. "Look here you," She said before taking a sip of her coffee, "I did not ask for you to be Mr. Smartypants." Malcolm chuckled, "We both know that it's a little difficult for me to not be Mr. Smartypants, it's sorta kinda part of my job description." He said before kissing Dani on the cheek. Dani smirked and shook her head, "You're trying to be funny again, it's not working." She said with a chuckle. "You just chuckled, which clearly means you think I'm funny." Malcolm said as he finished eating his pancakes. Dani shook her head as she took a sip of her coffee after taking a bite of her pancakes, "I chuckled because you're a dork and because you're my dork. I did not chuckle because you're funny." She said as she finished her pancakes and stood to put her plate in the sink. "No, you definitely laughed because you think I'm funny. Admit it Dani, you think I'm funny." Malcolm said as he also stood to put his plate in the sink.


	4. Chapter 4

Dani and Malcolm sat on the couch at Malcolm's place, they had spent the morning together just relaxing and enjoying Dani's day off together. "Maybe we should go out somewhere, do something other than sit on my couch." Malcolm said as he took Dani's hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. "What if we went mini golfing," Dani suggested as she looked at Malcolm with a smile, "I have a strong feeling you've never gone mini golfing before." Malcolm chuckled and shook his head, "Mini golfing is not something that my family ever did. But, I think I would love to give it a try with you." He said smiling and kissing Dani's hand. Dani smiled and stood up, "Okay, let's go mini golfing then." She said as she pulled Malcolm into a standing position and walked over to Malcolm's kitchen counter where her jacket was sitting. Malcolm chuckled and walked to the door, holding it open for Dani and locking the door behind him as he followed her out the door. When they got outside, Dani and Malcolm got into Dani's car and she drove to the nearest mini golf location. When they got to the mini golf course, Dani and Malcolm walked into the building and Dani paid for a game of mini golf. "Okay Malcolm, mini golf is pretty simple," Dani said as she grabbed a scorecard, pencil, two golf putters and two golf balls, "we'll take turns hitting our golf balls through each stage and the goal is to get the ball into the hole with the least amount of hits." She explained as she handed Malcolm one of the golf balls and putters. Malcolm nodded, that sounded pretty simple, he was sure he could get a hole in one at each hole with how simple that sounded. "That sounds super easy, we'll get through this in no time." Malcolm said as they walked up to the first hole and Dani placed her golf ball down. Dani chuckled as she swung her putter, she thought it was amusing how confident Malcolm was that he could quickly get through all nine holes of the course especially when he's never gone mini golfing before. "I'll be keeping track of how many hits it takes for you to get the golf ball in the hole," Dani said as she hit the ball, "and remember, not all the holes are as easy as this one." She added after getting a hole in one and marking it on the scorecard and grabbing her ball so that Malcolm could take his turn. Malcolm also got a hole in one on the first hole and after Dani marked it on the scorecard and he retrieved his ball, they moved on to hole two. About a half hour later, Dani and Malcolm sat on a bench by the ninth hole as Dani totaled up their scores. "Well Malcolm, that was a good game, especially for your first time playing, but I did beat you because lowest score wins and I had the lowest score." Dani said as she showed Malcolm the scorecard. Malcolm looked at the scorecard and sighed, "Well it is only my first time mini golfing so I shouldn't have expected to be good," He admitted as he looked at Dani, "though I think that since you won, I should treat you to ice cream." Dani chuckled as she looked at the time, "I've got a better idea than ice cream," She said with a smirk as she looked over at Malcolm, "we could go to Amsterdam Billiards & Bar, crash JT and Tally's date night which will be starting soon." She suggested as she got up off the bench. Malcolm chuckled as he got up off the bench, "sounds like the perfect plan. First mini golf, now pool with JT and Tally, I'd say that makes a pretty great date night. For us at least." He said as they walked to Dani's car.

When Dani and Malcolm walked into Amsterdam Billiards & Bar, JT was the first to see them. "Oh, I see how it is. Let's crash JT and Tally's date night just because we can?" JT said as he hugged Dani. "Yep, that's exactly what our plan was. That and I thought this would cheer Malcolm up after I beat him in mini golf a little while ago." Dani said as Malcolm rolled his eyes before joining Tally in grabbing beers for the four of them. "So you took Bright mini golfing, beat him and then decided to crash mine and Tally's date night so I could beat him at pool?" JT asked after Tally and Malcolm had gone over to the bar. "No, I brought him here so that we could crash date night and so I can teach him how to play pool." Dani said smacking JT on the arm as Malcolm and Tally walked over to Dani and JT. "What did JT do know?" Tally asked as she handed Dani one of the beers she was carrying. "I didn't do anything. I just asked Dani if her plan was to bring Malcolm here to lose against me in pool," JT said as Malcolm handed him the other beer he had been carrying, "you're lucky though Bright, Dani brought you here to teach you how to play pool, while also crashing my date night with my wife." Tally chuckled and shook her head at JT's comment, "They can crash our date night whenever they'd like. Especially since after tonight I think Malcolm will be able to beat you at pool and I think that would be hilarious." She said with a smile. Dani set up a pool table for her and Malcolm to use next to the pool table that JT and Tally were going to use. After setting up the pool table, Dani placed her beer on the corner of the pool table and grabbed a pool cue that she and Malcolm would share. "Okay Malcolm, put your beer down and come here so I can teach you how to properly play pool." Dani said as Malcolm walked over to her. Malcolm put his beer on the corner opposite where Dani had placed hers. "Okay, I'm ready to learn to play pool." He said as Dani handed him the pool cue. Dani stood behind Malcolm, guiding him through the steps to hitting the pool ball with the pool cue properly. After a few times of Dani walking Malcolm through how to play pool, Dani and Malcolm joined JT and Tally for a few rounds of a friendly game of pool. 

"Let's keep in mind that if we had been playing for money, I won two out of three of those rounds and Malcolm only won the third round because Dani cheated." JT said when they finished playing pool and were getting ready to leave. "I did not cheat, Malcolm won that last round fair and square. You're just upset that we weren't playing for money because Malcolm would have had to pay you for winning those two rounds you won," Dani said as the four of them walked out the door together, "that was fun, maybe next time we should mini golf together now that Malcolm knows how to mini golf." She suggested as she and Malcolm walked with JT and Tally to their car. After they said their goodbyes, Dani and Malcolm headed to Dani's car and then went back to Malcolm's.


	5. Chapter 5

It was finally December and that meant that Dani had the perfect opportunity to bring Malcolm ice skating. So far everytime Dani had wanted to bring Malcolm ice skating, her plans were ruined by the team being called in due to a murder. Dani showed up at Malcolm's place the morning they had finished solving a murder, she wanted to make sure she could finally bring Malcolm ice skating and this was her opportunity to do so. When Dani got to Malcolm's place, she let herself in, with the key Malcolm had given her, but to her surprise Malcolm wasn't home. Dani walked into Malcolm's kitchen to make herself a cup of tea and she found a note on Malcolm's kitchen counter. 'Dani - My mother and sister have kidnapped me for breakfast. I made sure to fill the kettle for you before I left so you can make tea. There's a bag of Earl Grey in the mug on the counter beside the fridge. Love you. - Malcolm'. Dani read the note and chuckled at the fact that Malcolm referred to breakfast with his mother and sister as being kidnapped for breakfast. After reading the note, Dani turned on the stove so she could boil the water for her tea. After Dani had made her tea, she sat on Malcolm's couch and turned on the tv while she waited for Malcolm to come home. "Hey, sorry I wasn't home when you got here. I was summoned to my mother's for breakfast." Malcolm said to Dani as he leaned over the couch and kissed her on the cheek. "Hey, it's okay. I had time to warm up while I waited. I'll let you warm up a bit too before I drag you ice skating." Dani said with as smile as Malcolm joined Dani on the couch. "I see you got my note," Malcolm said pointing to the mug on his coffee table, "I figured you would want tea so I made sure to have water in the kettle for you." Dani nodded and kissed Malcolm's cheek, "I appreciate it, thank you." She said as she grabbed the empty mug and brought it to the kitchen. Malcolm followed Dani to the kitchen, "Well we should probably leave now before we get too comfortable if you're wanting to go ice skating." He said as he leaned against the counter. Dani nodded and walked over to the stairs where she left her boots, Malcolm following behind her. 

After a short while, Dani and Malcolm arrived at the ice rink. Dani grabbed the two pairs of ice skates out of the back of her car and handed a pair to Malcolm. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea, what if I fall? There are so many people here." Malcolm said as he looked at all the people out on the ice rink. "Malcolm, you'll be okay. I promise, I'll be skating beside you holding your hand the whole time." Dani said reassuringly as they walked over to a bench to change into their skates. After Malcolm and Dani had changed into their ice skates, they entered the ice rink hand in hand. For a short while Malcolm held the ice rink wall with his free hand to keep himself from falling, but then Dani took that hand in her hand as well and she helped Malcolm to keep his balance as she skated them into the center of the rink. "Dani, if I fall then we both fall. I hope you realize that." Malcolm said as his legs started to wobble beneath him. Dani moved Malcolm's hands to her shoulders and her hands to Malcolm's waist as she continued to skate them around the rink. "You won't fall Malcolm, I'll keep you from falling," Dani said calmly, looking Malcolm in his eyes, "just don't let go of my shoulders and you'll be fine." Malcolm nodded and moved his hands so that he could hold them together behind Dani's head. 

After an hour of skating, Dani took Malcolm's hands and led him towards the exit of the ice rink. After they changed out of their ice skates and into their boots, Dani and Malcolm walked to Dani's car. "So I think it's safe to say we won't be ice skating anymore this winter." Dani said as she and Malcolm got into Dani's car. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea. Especially since I doubt they make skates with more than one blade like with the roller skates." Malcolm said as Dani drove them back to Malcolm's. When they got back to Malcolm's and took off their boots and coats, Dani walked into Malcolm's kitchen to make them hot chocolate. "How long have I had hot chocolate mix?" Malcolm asked when he saw Dani pull the hot chocolate mix container out of one of his cupboards. Dani filled the kettle with water and turned on the stove to boil the water. "I brought it over like two weeks ago," She said as she scooped the mix into the two mugs she had grabbed from the cupboard, "you would have known that you have it if you actually ate food in your house." Malcolm walked over to Dani and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "I do eat food in my house. I eat Twizzlers, blueberry muffins when you make them, and any other food you make for me." He said as he kissed Dani's cheek. Dani rolled her eyes as she poured the hot water into the mugs. "See this is why I'm glad I don't go grocery shopping for you and I only buy you the few things that I know will be used when I'm here." She said as she took the milk out of the fridge and added a bit of it to both mugs. After Dani finished making the hot chocolates, she handed a mug to Malcolm and the two of them walked over to Malcolm's couch. "Remember when JT went to throw a snowball at me during our last case and instead of hitting me, he hit Gil." Malcolm said to Dani as they cuddled on the couch drinking their hot chocolates. "I think it was even funnier when you went to throw a snowball at JT and instead of hitting him, you hit Gil," Dani said with a chuckle, "I thought Gil was going to make a couple of snowballs and hit both of you with them." Malcolm laughed and took a sip of his hot chocolate. "Just because he didn't do it then doesn't mean he won't do it. Gil will hit JT and I with a snowball when we least expect it. Not only will he get us, but he will also hit you and Edrisa with a snowball as well." He said with a laugh as he thought about Gil throwing snowballs at all of them.


	6. Chapter 6

Dani and Malcolm sat on Malcolm's couch scrolling through their phones looking for something for them to do together that got them out of Malcolm's loft. "There's a public pool that's open," Malcolm said and then shook his head, "nevermind, I don't own any swim shorts." Dani sat up from leaning against Malcolm and turned to look at him. "Do you even own a single pair of shorts?" She asked with a laugh, in all the time Dani had known Malcolm, she had never once seen him wear a single pair of shorts. Malcolm looked up from his phone and thought for a moment, "No, I don't think I've owned a pair of shorts since I was a kid." He said looking at Dani and chuckling at the look she gave him when she realized he wasn't joking. "Okay, that's honestly not surprising with you." Dani said as she leaned against Malcolm again and went back to scrolling through her phone. After a short while of scrolling through their phones in silence, Dani sat up and looked at Malcolm again. "What about go karts?" She asked as Malcolm looked up at her from his phone, "They're fun and easy to use, and you don't need any prior experience to be good at driving them." She added as Malcolm thought for a moment. Go karts sound like fun, and I mean this relationship has been a lot of me trying new things." Malcolm said with a smile as he leaned forward and kissed Dani on the cheek. Dani smiled and kissed Malcolm's cheek, "I'd suggest changing into more comfortable clothes like jeans and a sweater. You don't want to be overdressed for go karts, even if you have seemed overdressed for our other dates." She said as she got up off the couch. Malcolm sighed and stood up, "Yeah, I guess go karting in a suit isn't a great idea." He said as he walked over to the stairs to head upstairs to grab some casual clothes to wear go karting. Dani sat on one of the barstools while she waited for Malcolm to change. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and decided to pre-book their go karting time slot so that they wouldn't have to wait too long when they got there. Just as Dani put her phone back into her pocket, Malcolm came downstairs wearing jeans and a t-shirt with his old 'Harvard' sweater over top of the t-shirt. "Okay, I'm ready to go now." Malcolm said as he grabbed his phone off the couch and walked to the door with Dani. 

When they got into Dani's car, Dani pulled up the go karting place's address on her phone and typed it into her car's GPS. "So when we get there we'll have time to find helmets and watch the group before us finish their last few laps." Dani said to Malcolm as she started to drive to the go karting place. Malcolm nodded, he was a little nervous about go karting for the first time but he knew with Dani he had nothing to worry about. "So how easy is go karting?" He asked looking over at Dani as she drove. Dani glanced over at Malcolm and then went back to focusing on the road. "It's super easy, the gas and brake pedals are usually labelled so you know which ones to press, and if not they'll tell you which is which," She explained to Malcolm, "and then of course all you have to do is remember to keep your foot on pressed on the gas pedal like in an actual car, and turn the steering wheel in the direction you want to go in. Oh and the track usually has all sorts of twists and turns so you're going to be turning the steering wheel a lot." After Dani pulled into the parking lot and parked in a parking spot, she and Malcolm got out and walked into the go karting building. Once inside, Dani walked over to the front desk to pay for the time slot she had booked which gave them ten laps to drive. After paying for their time slot, Dani lead Malcolm over to the shelves where the helmets were kept and after they found helmets that fit them, they found a spot to stand and watch the previous group drive. "So are we just casually driving our laps or are we racing each other through them?" Malcolm asked Dani as he watched a couple of kids race each other around the track. Dani chuckled, "That is completely up to you, though I think I may have a bit of an unfair advantage seeing as I've gone go karting before." She said as she watched Malcolm excitedly watch the children race around the track. "I don't care that you have an advantage, I want to race!" Malcolm said excitedly looking over at Dani with a bright smile. Dani smiled back at Malcolm and nodded, "Okay, we will definitely race each other around the track." She said as the group before them finished their laps and returned their go karts to the start line. After Malcolm and Dani were finally able to get into their go karts, they put on their helmets and chose two go karts beside each other. One of the workers showed Malcolm which pedal was the gas pedal and which was the brake and when the other people who would be go karting at the same time as them had got into their go karts and were ready to go, the worker moved out of the way so that everyone could go. 

Malcolm and Dani raced around the track, Dani taking the lead almost immediately. "Come on Malcolm, keep up." Dani said with a chuckle as she quickly glanced behind her at Malcolm. Just after Dani looked forward again, Malcolm raced up beside her and raced past her, taking the lead. "Now who's the one who needs to keep up?" He said with a laugh as he quickly turned his steering wheel to take a sharp turn. Dani laughed as she drove her go kart close behind Malcolm's. "Are you sure you've never gone go karting before Bright? You're definitely racing like you have." Dani said as they both whipped past some children who had been ahead of them. When their ten laps were done, Malcolm had beat Dani and parked his go kart at the start line. After Dani had parked her go kart next to Malcolm's they both got out and took of their helmets. "I still can't believe you beat me. That had to be beginner's luck because that's the only explanation I can think of as to how you beat me." Dani said as they put their helmets back. "I beat you and like four kids." Malcolm said with a chuckle as they walked back to Dani's car. Dani laughed as they got into her car to head back to Malcolm's. "Maybe next time we'll need to have the team tag along," She said with a smile, "you, me, Edrisa, Gil, JT and Tally would make a fun night of go karting."


	7. Chapter 7

Dani leaned against her car as she waited for Malcolm to lock his front door. "This is the second time I've seen you wear that, I like it." Dani said with a smile seeing Malcolm in a pair of jeans and his red 'Harvard' sweater. "Well I can't go bowling in a suit, that would be ridiculous." Malcolm said as he walked over to Dani and kissed her on the cheek. Dani kissed Malcolm's cheek before walking over to the driver side of her car and getting in. "JT texted me and said he and Tally are already at the bowling alley. I told him to order a pizza for all of us while he waits." Dani said to Malcolm after he climbed into the passenger seat and she drove to the bowling alley. Malcolm nodded and looked over at Dani, "So basically the plan for tonight is to take my mother out of her comfort zone," He said with a chuckle, "going bowling, eating pizza. My mother is more of a dress up fancy, eat fancy dinners, and go to the opera or to a play kind of person." Dani chuckled as she pulled into the bowling alley parking lot. As Dani and Malcolm were getting out of Dani's car, Dani spotted Gil and Jessica walking through the parking lot and quickly walked over to them with Malcolm. "JT and Tally are already inside and have ordered pizza for us," Dani said to Gil and Jessica when she and Malcolm caught up to them. Gil laughed at how energetic and excited Dani was as they walked into the bowling alley. Once inside, JT waved them over to a table that had beers and pizza on it. "Malcolm Bright owns jeans? What?" JT said in shock when he saw Malcolm's outfit. Malcolm rolled his eyes as he sat down at the table. "Yes I own jeans, it's not a big deal and you don't need to make it one." He said as he grabbed a slice of pizza and everyone else sat down at the table. "Hey Bright, I was just bugging you man. You know that, right?" JT said sitting across the table from Malcolm. Malcolm took a bite of his pizza and nodded at JT's comment. "Yeah, I get it. You bugging me isn't just an at work thing." He said looking up at JT who shrugged as he took a bite of his pizza slice. 

After eating their pizza and drinking their beers, JT, Tally, Jessica, Gil, Malcolm and Dani moved over to the bowling lanes that they were going to be using for the evening. "Okay, let me get this straight, Malcolm and Jessica have never bowled before? I thought you would have had like a private bowling alley in your basement or something." JT said as he grabbed a bowling ball to take his turn. Jessica gave Malcolm a look of disapproval knowing exactly what he was going to say, but Malcolm ignored the look his mother was giving him. "The only thing that was in my basement was my father's private office and the girl in the box." Malcolm said as he watched JT bowl and Gil smacked the back of his head. Malcolm rubbed the back of his head as Dani laughed. "I mean, come on. You knew he was going to say that, Jessica even gave him a look of disapproval before he said it." Dani said as she grabbed a bowling ball to take the first turn in her lane. "Oh I knew he was going to say it, I was prepared to smack him as soon as JT made his comment." Gil said as he stood up to take his turn. The way the two lanes were set up, was three and three. JT, Gil, and Malcolm on one lane, while Dani, Tally, and Jessica were on the other lane. "JT, I told you on our way here that you were going to say something to Malcolm tonight that you were going to regret after he responded." Tally said as she went to take her turn after Dani bowled the first strike of the night. JT chuckled, "Oh I don't regret what I said one bit. Malcolm got death glared by his mother and smacked by Gil for his response." He said but instantly regretted it when Tally gave him a death glare. Malcolm laughed at JT when Tally gave him a death glare and stood up to bowl. Dani quickly stood up to help Malcolm out since she knew he would need it. After Tally had finished her turn, Jessica went up to take her turn, bowling the second strike of the night. JT stood next to Tally, his mouth open in shock that Jessica got a strike. "Just because Malcolm's never gone bowling doesn't mean I've never gone bowling." She said as she sat down next to Gil. After helping Malcolm bowl his first frame, Dani went over to her lane to bowl her second frame, getting another strike. "Are you just going to bowl a whole game of strikes?" JT asked Dani as she went to sit down. Dani chuckled as she sat on the back of a chair and shrugged, "Yeah. Sure, why not?" She said as JT took his turn. By the time everyone had finished their first game of bowling, the girls were in the lead because they kept getting strikes and spares. "Okay, let's start game two and see if the boys will win this one." Tally said with a chuckle because after the game they just played she figured it would take a miracle for the boys to win.

Just like with game one, JT and Dani took the first turns of the second game. "If Dani bowls something other than strikes this game, I will give her twenty bucks." JT said after he saw that Dani's first frame was a strike. "If this game is anything like last game, I'll only be bowling strikes." Dani said with a laugh as she sat on the back of a chair. When Malcolm went up to take his turn, he bowled his first strike of the night. "I did it! I bowled a strike!" He said excitedly and JT high fived him. "Way to go Bright, that was amazing!" JT said excited for Malcolm getting his first strike of the night. When they finished their second game, the girls were still in the lead because the only strike that the boys had gotten that game was Malcolm's first strike. "I think it's about time we call it a night," Gil said before anyone could suggest they play a third game, "some of us have work tomorrow and at this rate we'll be here all night." Tally nodded in agreement, "Alright, let's return our bowling shoes and I'll make sure everything was properly paid for." She said as they walked towards the desk. After they returned their bowling shoes, changed into their regular shoes, and Tally made sure everything was paid for, the six of them walked out of the bowling alley together talking and laughing.


	8. Chapter 8

Dani arrived at Malcolm's with a bag from the store. They had just finished a stressful case the day before and Dani decided it would be a good idea to blow off some steam. "Hey Dani, what's in the bag?" Malcolm asked curiously when Dani walked into his loft. Dani smiled as she closed the door to Malcolm's loft behind her and walked over to the couch. "I've got only the greatest thing ever for us to use to blow off some steam." She said as she placed the bag on the couch and Malcolm opened it. Malcolm took out one of the boxes and examined it, "Nerf? What exactly is this?" He asked looking at Dani as she pulled out the other boxes. "Nerf guns, they shoot out foam bullets and we are going to use them to have a nerf war. You against me, the only places to hide from me are in this loft." Dani said with a chuckle as she started to open one of the boxes. "How many of these Nerf guns did you buy?" Malcolm asked as he opened the box he had been holding. Dani looked at the boxes she had set on the couch, "Six guns, three for me and three for you. But, we're going to have fun with this nerf war. We'll start off with one gun each, six bullets each and the other guns and bullets will be hidden." She said with a smile as she opened the other boxes and pulled out the bullets. Dani counted out twelve of the bullets and hide the other bullet around Malcolm's loft. Malcolm examined the nerf gun he had in his hand while Dani hid the other ones. "This seems pretty easy," Malcolm said as he loaded a bullet into his gun and shot it at the wall, "I think I've already gotten a hang of this." Dani chuckled and picked up the bullet, handing it back to Malcolm. "Are you ready for our nerf war then?" She asked as she loaded her bullets into her nerf gun. 

After they got their nerf guns loaded and they got into their "home bases", they got ready to begin their nerf war. "Okay, Malcolm. Are you ready?" Dani yelled across the loft to Malcolm. Malcolm sat in silence for a moment as he planned a strategy. "Ready when you are Dani." He yelled across the loft. Dani shot a bullet at the roof to signify the start of their nerf war, and quickly put the nerf bullet back in her gun before rolling across the floor and army crawling her way to the fridge where she had hidden some bullets and another nerf gun. As she reached the fridge she felt a nerf bullet hit her arm. Dani pulled her arm back and slid her body behind the counter shooting her nerf gun in the direction Malcolm's bullet had come from but missed him as he had already quickly moved to the other side of the counter. Dani quickly opened the fridge door, using it as a shield against Malcolm's bullets as she grabbed the extra bullets out of the fridge and the second nerf gun. While Dani was in the fridge, Malcolm moved to the same side of the counter Dani was on and opened the oven, grabbing the nerf bullets and gun that were hidden in there. 

A few hours later, Dani and Malcolm were both laying on the floor laughing, the floor around them covered in nerf bullets. "Okay, it's now time for the least exciting part about nerf wars," Dani said as she sat up and looked at Malcolm, "we now have to go around your loft and clean up all the nerf bullets." Malcolm sat up and looked around his loft before standing up and walking into his kitchen and pulling a couple of medium sized bowls out of the cupboard. "Putting the bullets in these bowls will help with the clean up." He said as Dani stood up and he handed her one of the bowls. Dani and Malcolm walked through his loft picking up all of the nerf bullets. There were a ton on the floor, some on the kitchen counters, some had landed on Malcolm's bed, on the stairs, and even on the bookshelves. "Next time we have a nerf war," Dani said as they brought the nerf guns and the bowls of nerf bullets over to his desk, "we should have the nerf war at night and have all the lights off. I can buy some glow in the dark nerf bullets and we'll only use those ones so that we can find the bullets in the dark but it would be tons of fun if the only thing we can see is the bullets." Malcolm chuckled at the thought of a nerf war against Dani in the dark as they sat on the couch together. "Maybe we could also have a nerf war at my mother's place, that gives us more space to run and if we got my mother and Gil involved we could do us verses them or Gil and I against you and my mother." Malcolm suggested and Dani nodded thoughtfully. "Although, if we have a bigger playing arena like your mother's house and we do men verses women, we have to get JT and Tally involved because I would love to see JT using a nerf gun and not being able to shoot at you since you'd be on the same team." Dani said with a chuckle and Malcolm chuckled as well. "That would be one of the greatest things ever. Although JT would probably still shoot me with the nerf gun either before we started the nerf war or after we finished the nerf war just so then he'd feel better." Malcolm said with a smile and Dani nodded in agreement. "Glow in the dark nerf battle at your mother's would be fun too, especially with the bigger space. We'd probably have to mark where the furniture is with glow tape though so we don't crash into like a table and break a lamp or an expensive vase," Dani said thinking about how cool a glow in the dark nerf battle would be at Malcolm's mother's house, "although a nerf battle of any kind at you mom's would be a pain to clean up afterwards. We would need a nap before cleaning up and after cleaning up. That's how annoying it would be to clean up the nerf bullets at your mom's. But don't get me wrong, it would still totally be worth it to see your mom be apart of a nerf war."


	9. Chapter 9

Dani arrived at Malcolm's house at eight in the morning, carrying a take out bag. After she let herself into Malcolm's loft with the key he had given her, she set the bag down on the kitchen counter and pulled out the takeout container that was inside as well as a bagel. As Dani was getting some coffee started for the two of them, Malcolm walked out of his bathroom and into the kitchen. "Good morning Dani," Malcolm said with a smile as he kissed her cheek and took over for her with making the coffee, "what did you bring for breakfast?" Dani picked up the bagel, that was cut and toasted already and handed it to Malcolm before reaching into the bag again and pulling out butter and cream cheese. "I didn't know if you wanted butter or cream cheese on your bagel so I got both." Dani said as she opened up her takeout container that had bacon, eggs, a couple pancakes, and a couple of breakfast sausages and started eating her breakfast. Malcolm finished making the coffee and poured it into two mugs, sliding one mug across the counter to Dani. "So are we still going to the zoo today?" Malcolm asked as he took a bite of his bagel that he had decided to not put anything on. Dani nodded, "Also that reminds me, I have something in my car for you." She said as she stood up. Dani went to her car to grab a bag out of the back seat and when she returned, she handed the bag to Malcolm. "What is it?" Malcolm asked curiously and Dani just went back to eating her breakfast. Malcolm opened the bag and pulled out a onesie, a giraffe onesie to be exact. "I told you I was going to get you a onesie," Dani said with a smile as she took a sip of her coffee, "and I obviously needed to get you one that matched mine, it only made sense." Malcolm walked around the counter to Dani and kissed her softly on the lips, "Thank you for the giraffe onesie, I love it," He said with a smile, "we should probably finish our breakfast if we want to go to the zoo though." Malcolm put his onesie on his bed and went back over to the kitchen counter to finish his bagel and coffee while Dani finished her coffee and breakfast. After Malcolm had finished eating his bagel and drinking his coffee, he went upstairs to get dressed while Dani finished up her breakfast. When they were ready to go, Malcolm and Dani left Malcolm's loft and got into Dani's car. "I still can't believe I let you convince me to bring you to the zoo." Dani said as she started to drive. "I can't believe that I managed to convince you to bring me to the zoo." Malcolm said just as surprised as Dani. Once Dani had parked the car in the zoo parking lot, Dani and Malcolm walked to the front gate hand in hand. Once inside the zoo, the first place Malcolm dragged Dani to was the giraffe enclosure. "Look Dani, it's our family." Malcolm said excitedly which caused Dani to shake her head and laugh. "No, I'll show you where your family is." Dani said as she grabbed Malcolm's hand and dragged him through the zoo to the monkey enclosure. "Are you saying that the Whitly's are like monkeys?" Malcolm asked when they had stopped in front of the enclosure. Dani shook her head, "Oh no, of course not. I'm saying you're like a monkey and as I'm saying it I'm remembering that time you were high and jumped onto the back of your couch. Yeah, that's definitely because you're a monkey." She said with a laugh as they started to walk to another spot in the zoo.

A few hours later, Dani and Malcolm decided to grab some lunch at one of the restaurants in the zoo. "I'll make a deal with you Malcolm. If you eat one slice of pizza, I will buy you a slushy." Dani said as they stood in line to order pizza. "That sounds like a deal Gil would have made with me when I was younger. But, I will accept your deal." Malcolm said just before it was their turn to order. After Dani had paid for their pizza and they were given their pizza slices, Dani and Malcolm found a table to sit at. "By the way, Gil may have told me to use that deal with you when I told him we were going to be going to the zoo." Dani said after Malcolm had finished his slice of pizza. Malcolm rolled his eyes and laughed, "I should have known that you two have been conspiring against me to get me to eat more often." He said as Dani finished her second slice of pizza. "Well a deal is a deal. Let's go get you a slushy." Dani said as she stood up and threw their garbage out in the nearest trash can. A few minutes later, Malcolm and Dani started walking around again, Malcolm drinking a blue raspberry slushy as they walked towards the penguin enclosure. "You know, sometimes you do something and I have to remind myself that the man I'm dating is like a literal child." Dani said to Malcolm as he drank his slushy and watched the penguins excitedly. "I can't even argue with you on that one." Malcolm said as he looked over at Dani who had been watching him excitedly watch the penguins. Dani chuckled and took Malcolm's hand in hers. "Let's go check out the giraffes again and then we'll head back to your place." She said as they started to leave the penguin area. When they got back to the giraffe enclosure, Dani took at her phone and took some photos of Malcolm standing in front of the fence, and then took some photos of the two of them standing in front of the fence. "Alright, let's go home and relax."Malcolm said to Dani with a smile. Dani took Malcolm's hand in her hand again and walked back to her car. Once they got back to Malcolm's Dani texted Gil the photos she had taken of Malcolm at the zoo as she sat on Malcolm's couch with him. "Hey Dani," Malcolm said and she looked up from her phone, "is my tongue blue?" He asked before sticking his tongue out at Dani. Dani laughed and took a picture of Malcolm. "Does this answer your question?" She asked showing Malcolm the photo, "by the way, I'm sending that photo to Gil." She added as she texted the photo to Gil before Malcolm had time to try and stop her.

~ End ~


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